Does cellphone radiation REALLY cause cancer?

'We have no real sense whether other organs are more sensitive or less sensitive to radiofrequency radiation.'

A new study reveals startling information concerning cancers growing in rats exposed to cell phone radiation. How safe are you from similar cancers?

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The study, conducted by research and education institution bioRxiv, revealed cancerous tumor growth in the brains and hearts of rats exposed to the same radiation emitted by the common cellular phone.

Despite the implications of the findings, John Bucher, an associate director of the National Toxicology Program responsible for the study, says he will not be changing his phone habits.

"I don't use a cellphone very often. People don't seem to call me much, Bucher recently told reporters in a telephone briefing.

Meanwhile, the rats in the study received high levels of cellular signals, most above legal limits the Federal Communications Commission set for mobile phones. The study revealed the rats were exposed to the signals for nine hours each day from the time of conception to their deaths two years later.

Bucher explained the rats "were exposed at levels that were heavy," which is a standard practice during rat trials as researchers are more likely to see an effect.

Despite the growth of cancerous tumors in the rodents' brains and hearts, most studies reveal cell phone radiation reacts differently in humans. In fact, cell phone usage has dramatically increased in the past decade but the rate of brain cancer has not.

"We are aware of the fact that there certainly has not been an increase in brain cancer rates in the United States," Bucher explained, adding that rats don't live as long as people do. He also mentioned that cancer can take several years to develop and even more to detect.

Throughout the study, rats had their entire bodies exposed to cell phone radiation yet only two organs were affected. Bucher explained: "Many people hold cellphones at various places around the body. Women [have] been known to place the cellphones in their bras. [But] we have no real sense whether other organs are more sensitive or less sensitive to radiofrequency radiation."

The study concluded by saying, "No biologically significant effects were observed in the brain or heart of female rats regardless of" exposure to the cell phone radiation.

The study has been deemed incomplete and the National Toxicology Program will continue their research until 2017.

Meanwhile, a more conclusive study is currently under way in Europe. It involves 290,000 cell phone users and began in 2010. Study participants will be tracked for up to 30 years to see if cancer develop, and if so, what rates they develop.

Though the verdict has yet to be released, the National Cancer Institute explains concerns regarding cell phone usage and explains the radiation they emit - radiofrequency energy.

If you feel the risk is too great to wait for researchers to conclude their studies, the FDA lists the ways in which a person can reduce their exposure to radiofrequency energy without getting rid of their cell phones.

There are hands-free kits and accessories that claim to shield the head from the radiation, but the FDA's top two methods include the reduction of time spent on your phone and the use of speaker mode or headsets.

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